PENGUINS!!! That's right, in today's flash game review we take a brief look at a game called Learn to Fly. this game involves a bit of control, some timing, and a touch of intelligence... the perfect combination in my book.

The game, hosted on Kongregate, puts you in charge of a penguin who is trying to learn to fly I suppose... really the game plot is just a hilarious excuse to have a penguin with a glider and rockets strapped to it's back traveling at hundreds of miles per hour through the air. However, even with this fault, which makes no sense at all, the game still manages to entertain greatly... in fact it might top the charts with how hilarious it is to watch and play.

So the basic premise is you have a penguin traveling down a ramp of a given height, and once he reaches the bottom he will fly out into the sky and attempt certain goals. Goals correspond to the given level, so maybe it is a certain number of feet you must reach, or a speed or a height. Whatever the goal, each of the four stages has one.

Controls are fairly basic, once the penguin is in the air you use your controls to modify it's flight path, and the space bar triggers the rocket that might be strapped to it. The point in varying it's flight path is since once it hits the water it can bounce... it reminded of me and hitting the water with a skipping stone, the flatter the stone the better the bounce.

Items can be purchase at the store, with cash gained through achievements and how well you preformed during each jump. You can buy upgrades relating to lowering air resistance, or increasing rocket fuel and everything in between. And I mean the game, while not that hard is still fairly entertaining. Like tyhe penguin is hilarious to watch go off the ramp.

The goal in the game is of course to reach 6,000 feet traveled. This is most easily accomplished by just upgrading the hell out of everything that you have available, and then learning how to use your rockets. Since the game gives you a huge amount of data once you have an upgraded glider, try and minimize your wind resistance, while maximizing speed and elevation. If you do these few things your penguin will certainly learn to fly.

Again, this game isn't meant as a challenge, it shouldn't be hard, and won't take you three days. The graphics sounds and premise of a penguin who just wants to learn to fly will touch your heart... and well... hell just go out do what I say and play the game, it's fun you'll like it and enjoy wasting some time on it.

Rating:

Longevity: 2.5/5
Interface: 3.0/5
Addictiveness: 3.0/5
Sound: 3.0/5
Simplicity: 3.5/5

Overall: 3.0/5


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The thrilling, and long awaited sequel, Achievement Unlocked 2 really does build on where the first game left off. With 250 achievements to unlock, you can spend hours and hours... and hours on it. Well, if you suck, it only took me 45 minutes.

Found on Kongregate, this little gem really is absolutely hilarious to play, the point of it is to satire and poke fun at other flash games. and games in general which give achievements for no real reason. This review covers some of the comical action of the tiny elephant, and will touch on a few of the more obscure achievements... and yes I really did the entire game in 45 minutes, but I mean hey... I'm amazing so whatever.

So to start, when the game first loads up you unlock about a dozen achievements instantly. and a bunch more are unlocked from not even moving... which is also one, not moving that is. The elephant is controlled via the arrow keys... or for another achievement use WADS. Of course tho, several tasks present themselves on your quest to unlock achievements, including running in your wheel, drinking some water, filling the levels and collecting coins. Coins are placed sporadically throughout each level, and as we all know when there are coins, you must collect them at all costs. However, instead of being highly visible, they are incredibly tough to see which forces you to really run EVERYWHERE in the levels.

Speaking of levels, more are purchased through the in-game store, don't worry to much about the cost as it is rolled into the coins you pickup in the game. In fact buying levels is quite humorous, as the game doesn't take itself very seriously and so includes several comments from random sources which are all false. As you purchase levels, go and collect coins to buy more until you get to the roof... and the manor in which you travel is quite unique.

You see, Achievement Unlocked 2 makes great use of launchers that move the elephant up and down, these may defy the laws of gravity, but they are essential to moving around. You do jump quite high, but not high enough... it's never high enough is it now? Also there are horrible stalagmites that kill you in various ways, and platforms that teleport you all around. There is a slot machine, and a full octave worth of keys on a piano... and that is just to start.

This game has a massive amount of content considering that the time trial mode only allows for the first four minutes of game play. Seeing the nonstop flood of unlocking things is quite rewarding, but at some of them you feel rather silly. This feeling only goes towards the real message of the game which is to make fun and laugh at games that do this in a much more serious fashion.

CONGRATULATIONS, YOU KILLED YOUR FIRST ENEMY!

How many of us have played a stupid flash game, or console game that spits this message out, and we think to ourselves... my god was I supposed to be glad for that waste of a message... it reminds me of WoW.

The sounds work nicely for the game, there is a handy mute button, but no volume control, it doesn't really interfere with the game seeing as I liked the music. In 30 minutes I did get a good portion of the entire game done, but of course that is the easy part. I would recommend this to everyone, I mean it isn't a huge game, it won't make you want to play it for hours but it is definitely hilarious.

Rating:

Longevity: 3.5/5
Interface: 4.0/5
Addictiveness: 4.0/5
Sound: 3.5/5
Simplicity: 3.0/5

Overall: 3.6/5

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Good flash game RPGs are few and far between, so when you stumble across a really good one, you simply have to share it with the world, no matter how much it has already been played. Sonny on Kongregate, has been a favorite for a few years now, and I have played it before, so I thought it was time for it's own flash game review.

A lot can be said about Sonny, it has a ton of things to offer, I mean it has a reasonable amount of length, and multiple characters to control. The graphics are fairly sharp, and the sound effects fit right into the game environment. However that are a few features that get me hung up on, and some areas that definitely could be improved. Now, don't get this game confused with the Mardek RPG style of game play. It doesn't make you walk around and discover things and have random encounters or any of that fun stuff. Sonny is a much more straight forward game that relies more on combat, and thinking and planning. However because this game does include a leveling system, multiple types of characters, and items to buy and sell it really does belong as an RPG.

The game begins with a few questions, whats your name and what type of zombie do you want to be (yes you get to be a zombie). It then puts you directly into combat fighting along side someone, but don't worry this part of the game is very simple. Actually the entire game is fairly easy, with only a few fights being difficult, but more on that later. So as you finish the fight, lots of plot details unfold, you don't seem to remember much and all you know is fighting. Actually, the real game is in the plot, the actual game itself is fairly easy.

Essentially, you can chose between 4 main classes, each being based on a certain combat style. I had chosen the assassin type, which basically just does absurdly high burst damage. After each battle, you can find items, get gold, and earn experience. Also, you are encouraged to pickup each and every item as these are used in the future either to sell or to give to other party members. The game does a fairly good job at explaining how combat works, so I won't go to far in-depth. Essentially, you have a combat bar that is in the form of a circle, and you add abilities to it prior to combat. These abilities can have several different ways to be used but the most common cost is focus. Focus normally starts at 100, and is reduced with most abilities. It does not have a natural regeneration rate during combat, but other abilities will boost it, and after combat it does get reset.

The game lets you do a lot of customization when it comes to your abilities, and what you want to do. Each time you gain a level you get an ability point, as well as an attribute point. These points are spent that will let you define how your character will function as well as unlock and give access to new techniques.

The game is played out in 4 zones, 3 of which make up the main game content, and a 4th that is open ended and meant only for the baring brave... and those with to much time on their hands. The first 3 are all basically the same, they are viewed on a screen and have 3 rotating... circles or something. Each circle allows access to either a practice fight for experience and gold, a story fight which advances the game, and the item store to shop around.

Zones are completed after enough story advancing encounters, however you will find yourself needing to do some of the training ones simply to gian some levels. While this might seem like a time waste, it isn't. Should you die, you will simply see a small sign, and restart from a previous save point. Normally the auto save feature will take care of everything quite nicely.

This game really gets hung up on the fact that no other party member is controllable other than Sonny. If you want to throw him a heal, you can't. If you want to give him a buff, you can't. If you want to do anything, yeah you guess it, you can't. That really pissed me off the entire time, I mean what is the sense in having all of these wonderful characters if they are set on autopilot.

However, despite that flaw, this game still manages to keep me entertained and have reply value. It shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to get through the initial game, especially if you hit space and skip the plot details. After that the value would be in trying another class, not in grinding in that 4th zone endlessly, that is just a giant waste of time.

Rating:

Longevity: 3.0/5
Interface: 3.0/5
Addictiveness: 3.5/5
Sound: 4.0/5
Simplicity: 3.5/5

Overall: 3.4/5

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TOSS THE TURTLE! Well, 'toss' is not a very accurate word, fire out of a grotesquely large cannon would probably be better. This game promises to entertain you in many graphically filled ways...

Found on Kongregate, this game really does push the bounds of this genre, there are a plethora of flash games out there that involve launching something out of something trying to get the max distance... this one does it very well. The little things in this game make it good, like the turtles hilarious faces as he plummets against the ground, the awards for getting impaled on spikes, and hitting goombas. The music fits the game well, and the sounds are hilarious and don't get overly annoying after 20 or 30 shots, however bot are easy to disable if you want to.

The goal of the game is to buy everything at the shop, and shoot the turtle as far as possible... well at least that is about the only thing I can get from it. You complete this task by upgrading between rounds and then during the main game, once you have fired, controlling the little shelled friend as he travels through the air is done with the WADS keys. Actually, the first thing I noticed when I hit play on this title is the way the tutorial is designed, it isn't interactive, or long or anything, two simple pictures explain the entire game, brevity is wonderful.

So, that being said this game obviously doesn't have a difficulty factor, the longer you play the more money you get the better the items and farther your launch. It is a pretty simple system that ensures people will want to keep playing to get everything, but I mean it really is THAT simple. I did enjoy tho the variety of stuff that is created and ends up in your way. Early on you will find yourself controlling your flight to try and hit certain objects that propel you farther and farther, lots of good fun.

Many different types of upgrades are available including better weapons and high powered jet packs... even mini nukes can be purchased to propel the turtle sky-high and over incredible distances. The variety of upgrades is appreciated, however once you get the golden gun with it's golden bullets, everything else seems kinda stupid. This gun will instantly, and with only a single bullet, shoot the turtle that max horizontal speed, and massive vertical gain. It kinda solves the game, and allows you to clear 3,000,000 million feet without any problems at all.

The extraneous features such as medals and things on the screen as you fly do actually add to the game. In order to pass the 3 million milestone you really need to play for a long time and accumulate those medals. They give bonuses to certain features and parts of the game, and are next to essential to get. However the problem is that they are purely random, as almost all of them involve what things you land on or hit, and since that has no guarantee... well I am sure you can see the point. This game while entertaining and fun, and graphically pleasing... just doesn't have any sort of difficulty associated with it.

And that's perfectly acceptable as overall, this game, isn't supposed to be a challenge, it is an exercise in repeated aggression against small shelled animals. This game does preform like you want it to, short fast and to the point. It is the way we want it to be, and does what it promises, and that promise is entertainment for about an hour. I would definitely recommend this flash game, but then I'd say to quit whenever you get bored.

Rating:

Longevity: 2.5/5
Interface: 4.0/5
Addictiveness: 3.0/5
Sound: 3.5/5
Simplicity: 4.0/5

Overall: 3.4/5

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An eerie title that was produced in 2009, this game really does take on a mind of it's own. The Company of Myself is on of those games on Kongregate that you don't even notice you are playing until you get stuck, it's fluid filled with story and awesome...

First, to be frank, this game is shockingly fun, simple in nature, and devilishly complex. If you manage to wrap your mind around the concepts that it relies on, and the nature of the game, you will find it hauntingly beautiful, and irresistible to finish it. You traverse 20 levels as the sole character, at least for most of it. You don't seek the attention of others, nor their companionship, and you don't need it either. With the ability to help yourself in interesting ways, you manage to make due and complete the tasks required.

Ok Ok Ok I'll avoid the cryptic talk, you navigate progressively more difficult puzzles in an ever infuriating attempt to get to a green door. Upon reaching said green door, you press the space bar and poof you beat the level...

That's where the normal part ends and the plot picks up... you see the character you control use to have a love named Katelyn who he murdered... and well it gets even more complex, but lets just say you need to finish the game to get the amazing detail. Not only is the plot complex, but game play revolves around a style that is virtually 100% unique to this game. You see, when you press the space bar and you are NOT on a green door you die, and are reborn in a new life. At that point when you spawn, your copy and ever other copy you have created that level will play out its life in perfect replica and stop moving at the final position. It will trigger any leavers, cross any boundaries, and complete any tasks it was previously assigned.

This feature is so unique and incomprehensible that the first level where you actually need to use it could take you a few extra minutes... When you spawn as the version you are controlling that life, you can interact with the previous copies of yourself, and they can also interact with you. You can stand on their heads, they can stand on yours, and you can also jump off of them. These fundamental principles of the game essentially define it to be what it is. There are a variety of combinations with this principle that make the game complex, and the fact that you can do so many different things.

In addition to having many different iterations of yourself to use to complete goals, there are certain force fields which add more and more depth to the game. You see, pink force fields, only your previous copies can walk or run on, and green force fields on your actual self can walk on. This means that it can be required to imagine how your character might behave and preform that action, even tho you are actually seeing it happen. This leads to mind bending scenarios where you have to pretend you are jumping up stairs, or running even tho you are up against a wall.

This game also stretches your imagination for what is possible with clones... it might be required on some levels to stack them on top of each other and then run across something with the stack on your head. Other possibilities involved you standing on the copies head while you stand still... a lot of things happen.

I normally don't give hints, but the last level drove me almost to using a hint guide, so the trick is... remember that you have an unlimited number, and that you can jump off their heads.. in mid air.

But the real point to this game is the plot and overall, even with the amazing engine, that is still the best part. As an aside, the sound can be disabled by using "p" to pause and adjust, but you will see it really suits the game. Back to the plot, it really does make the game, the intriguing ideas it puts forth, and when you finish, to see the actual message... You should beat this game, go out and do it now.

Rating:

Longevity: 3.0/5
Interface: 4.0/5
Addictiveness: 3.5/5
Sound: 4.0/5
Simplicity: 3.0/5

Overall: 3.5/5

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Another one of those trippy, music repeats, everything flashes, and the points go up way to fast games, Epic Coaster on Kongregate has just in along with the recent influx of games that serve up psychedelic graphics and sounds to match... but is it any good.

Well I mean it is difficult to say if the game is actually any good, but it isn't really all that bad. I mean compared to our favorite game of this genre, Robot Unicorn Attack, it is a little bit simpler, and there is a little bit less flash, and the music isn't as good... but that's a good thing. This game is very low key when it comes to this type, you only get 1 life, you have to try and get as far as possible on that 1 life, as well as get any achievements the game might have to offer.

More specifically, you are riding or driving an epic coaster down a track that is made up of broken pieces of track. The goal is... well there isn't really any goal, just don't fall off and get lots of points is really all there is. You hit space to jump, and get extra points at often seemingly random times, and there are like 80 achievements in the game, so you are unlocking something every few seconds when you first start.

Dieing happens quite quickly, with once you plummet over the edge, you start back at the main screen very fast, and since you can just keep hitting space to start the game becomes very fluid. It is easy to hammer off a few tries and runs, and not notice the fact that you did... I like that feature.

Music can be disabled if you want, and it does have a slightly short track, but it is bearable and I never turned it off once. The difficulty does ramp up eventually, and getting the 15,000 meter achievement is a tad tricky, but quite possible.

Overall I enjoyed this little game, it's small, lightweight, addicting and fun... everything that a flash game should be sometimes. I would absolutely recommend this game to kill a little bit of time during the day.

Rating:

Longevity: 2.5/5
Interface: 4.0/5
Addictiveness: 3.5/5
Sound: 3.5/5
Simplicity: 4.5/5

Overall: 3.6/5

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Junk Battles, a game hosted on Kongregate, our favorite flash site, is a multi-player online game with very little actual good game play... honestly unless you are going to play for a few days, don't bother to.


You see, this game is focused around an RPG style adventure game that has you building various ships and contraptions to complete quests and battle other players in PvP format... I have to say, when I read the name I thought it was a short game based off the popular show called battle bots. Turns out I was totally wrong, the game is huge with tournaments, weekly and monthly awards, and absurdly long game play.

And it doesn't even do that part well. This game seems like a total failure, it has no addictive qualities, I forced myself to play it for nearly 6 hours just to see if it got any better and it doesn't. The sound is repetitive, the graphics aren't anything really special for this type of game, and the depth of character or story is nonexistent.

So this game, honestly, has no purpose in it's existence whatsoever, you are better off paying signing up for a 10-day free trial of WoW and playing that... However in the interest of flash game reviews, I must concede and still describe this game in it's fullest, the good parts, the bad, and just about everything else.

So to start off, you are a pilot or builder of some nature who must scavenge for parts by any means necessary in order to build a craft to fight. This craft is also your health, your special attacks, and your mode of transportation around the world. The game starts off fairly slow, and takes a while before there is any point in customizing a ride at all. The game is broken into several components: questing gets you packs of items as well as levels. There is a garage for both PvP and world use... certain items have restrictions in the world map and can only be used in controlled PvP. There is no global PvP in the sense that you can run into a person, it is all organized and you can never do it if you want.

You start off in a small town talking to a fellow named Rusty, this section helps with the tutorial, which is one thing the game does very well. It teaches the basics of both combat, as well as building a craft, and navigating the game. The music and sounds will drive you literally up the wall insane, and I suggest disabling them as quickly as possible... which is accessible from anywhere in the game.

After a brief time you will enter your first battle. The type of combat engine is similar to a Final Fantasy style with something like an attack timer. Instead of a bar that fills up before you can attack you have something called your piston. This is essentially the thing that "loads" attacks and into your bar, they then travel for a short time until exiting and actually going off. What this means basically is that when you click an attack it doesn't happen right away. You can also see your enemies attack bar, and can tell what attacks are coming. There is only ever one enemy doing battle with you at a time, so you can definitely focus during combat.

The average enemy will give you no trouble at all, however if you engage in PvP know this, everyone is better and will beat you. There literally are people who sit on this game for like 8 hours a day, and breath and sleep it... a serious waste of time if you ask me. The game deserves a few hours a day for a week at most, and honestly I'd stay away from it the same way you should stay away from rabid wolverines.

There is also an auction section to the game where people with smurf accounts buy and sell to get their under leveled accounts super good items so they can smash you in PvP when they are bored of smashing you with their regular accounts. This isn't actually an exaggeration, there was a group of people telling everyone to stay away from someone who was specifically doing it... even tho they all do it. The game develops more and more options with regards to combat, and a few new items and chassis types but I mean it never REALLY changes at all.

The game play will stay simple, you will always want to slice your throat open, and at some point you WILL rip your speakers in half, hulk style. I have to say, this game lacks a lot of effort and polishing, like you would figure the guys testing it would tell the lead designers how much the music SUCKS. All in all I am sure you can pretty well guess what I thought of this game... sorry Kongregate normally your stuff is awesome... but not here.

Rating:

Longevity: 2.5/5
Interface: 2.0/5
Addictiveness: 1.5/5
Sound: 2.0/5
Simplicity: 2.0/5

Overall: 2.0/5

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The most recent in the Bloons TD saga, Bloons Tower Defense 4, claims to be the best, with new features and updated game play. As far as the others found on Kongregate, it really does hold true and does improve on the originals... but enough to warrant playing it, we will soon find out...

Low and behold it does! Yes the fourth installment of this title does actually have a reason to exist, and it isn't just a ploy by the author to make money... although you can be sure that he is sure trying to make a lot of money off of it. This site has a feature where you can purchase upgrades in game using cash, something I would never encourage... but if you want to I suppose feel free. However, even without any upgrades this game sure does take some metaphorical cake. It offers new towers, new levels, and all new pathing. The more options included in this version do make it better than the original. Some features that I noted specifically were the individual towers behavior such as which balloon to target, as well as a ranking system.

For those new to Tower Defense games, baddies travel along a predetermined path trying to escape and claim your lives, it's your job to stop them. To do so, a variety of towers must be employed... I do mean variety, this game is impossible to beat using only 1 or 2 types of towers. Personally I found that without the use of at least 6 or 7 different combinations it was extremely difficult to beat the medium and hard settings.

In any event, Bloons TD 4 has implemented two main features I want to comment on. Firstly is the ability to unlock new rankings. As you gain levels and rankings through killing massive numbers of Bloons you will gain new upgrades for your towers. These upgrades are what will allow you to supersede some of the more difficult stages. Upgrades range from missiles that deal extra damage to Bloons blimps to Super Monkey storms that clear all baddies from the screen. This I suppose could be labeled as an RPG style element, but I would call it more just a slightly more complex upgrade system that encourages users to continue playing. Essentially, you gain rankings and get new bonuses for existing towers, and in the first stage you actually have to unlock the towers.

More new features include the ability to save current games, so if you are currently working on a level and have something important come up you can save your design. Music and sounds can be disabled during the game without going to a menu, and the layout of the screen is fairly clean without alot of distractions.

There is also now a variety of tracks to chose from, also there is an upgrade pack you can buy, and even user designed tracks can be made. Another addition is sandbox mode, in which you have unlimited cash to do with what you please, and Armageddon mode, where once the Bloons start they never stop.

As far as difficulty, this version does step it up ever so slightly. No longer can you simply rush a super monkey and win the game. Now levels required more planning and a lot more creativity in defense. I found an excellent array of multi-directional towers combined with freeze towers, bomb towers, single dart monkey and upgrade towers works well. Finally Super monkeys do add that last bit of defense that just obliterates most things... but don't be fooled, those blimps will still stop even some of the most stalwart defense.

Overall I was quite pleased with this version of a TD game. It updates the older version, adds some new features, ramps up difficulty and doesn't ruin what it was doing well. I would encourage everyone to play this game, be it for 30 minutes or 3 hours you won't be disappointed.

Rating:

Longevity: 4.0/5
Interface: 3.5/5
Addictiveness: 3.5/5
Sound: 3.0/5
Simplicity: 3.0/5

Overall: 3.4/5

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Nothing makes me more angry than a 14-year old typing in all caps when I am crushing him in a video game... what does this have to do with flash games you ask? Well, when a game has a title like UPGRADE COMPLETE! you can only guess the type of game it is...

Now, I don't mean to just bash another flash game for having a stupid idea for a game... but this one is just plain dumb. It can be found on Kongregate, and is very inventive in how it works. I mean don't get me wrong, it is also very stupid in how it works... but at least it is creative. I mean the premise alone is absurd, the opening of the game is a dead give away to how pointless this flash game will wind up being. You start off by having to 'purchase' a store that lets you upgrade your video game. The idea being that you need to upgrade everything completely in the game to finish it off. There is no skill at all involved in this game. Absolutely none, the levels even tell you that there is no negative repercussions for failing at a stage, like what the hell is with that.

The game has three main sections. In the first users upgrade the actual game itself, ranging from the graphics engine to the copyright information, it's all upgradable. This is the main feature of the game... I know what a feature right. Normally when I play a flash game, I want to actually play the game, not just click buttons to change the look.

The second stage is the ship builder, which I have to admit is kinda cool. You have a red box, and anything you add to this space will become attached to your ship. It doesn't need to actually be touching your ship, just inside the area. I would have preferred to see a bit more detail in that, but what can you ask for from a 13-year old who has caps lock on in the title. The ship builder allows you to upgrade the individual parts to your ship as well as reconfigure and sell parts.

The final section is what you could call the 'actual' game, at least in the usual sense. It is the part to the game where you collect money and advance to new levels of baddies. The game plays out like a space shooter in which waves of enemies descend from the top of the screen and move downwards, slowly, without shooting. Each time you kill one they drop some money, you get the money and can then progress your upgrades. If you fail on a wave... don't worry it doesn't matter, there is nothing negative at all for failing.

In fact, there is nothing negative anywhere in this entire game that can happen. You can never lose, never need to restart, never feel like you suck. This game has no competitive flavor at all. The only thing that monitors anything is a little game timer that checks how long you have been playing for. This game has sound that I could improve myself, and as far as graphics... well they change over time, but the end ones look pretty nice.

All in all, I don't see the purpose for this game, it is neither addictive and makes you want to play it forever or competitive and makes you want to win. Things that don't have a purpose usually have no reason for first being made. I feel like this game has several game play improvements that it would need before being very interresting at all.

Rating:

Longevity: 1.0/5
Interface: 2.0/5
Addictiveness: 1.0/5
Sound: 2.5/5
Simplicity: 3.5/5

Overall: 2.0/5

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Universities, good for more than just simple education. Hello Worlds! is the by-product out of the University of Washington, and is a flash game that is very unique, and reasonably damn fun. Granted it doesn't have THAT much replay value, and once you beat every level, there really isn't much else to it...

But my god this game is creative in every way you can imagine, from level design to extra features, it doesn't get much better.

The game puts users in control of.. well there are actually multiple characters to select from, so you can be everything from a turtle to a little dude to a crab, take your pick. Since you start off as a crab, and all characters have the same attributes, I'll just refer to you as a crab. Little crab guy is soooo cute... anyway on to the game.

So, Hello Worlds! is a flash-based [puzzle]/[adventure]/[omfg physics engine] hybrid hosted on Kongregate. It has no enemies in it, there is no REAL time limit on each level, and you can't really die. Sounds easy right? Think again.

Levels start off fairly easy, where your only objective is to get from your spawn to the red door and press the space bar to beat the level. However, along the way there are coins for you to collect, as usual, but the coins aren't essential to beating the level. You see for each level completed you can receive 1-3 stars, with certain levels having a special star that can add another, making the total 4. Stars are awarded for completing the level, collecting all the coins, and completing the level under a certain time. The first 15 levels or so are fairly easy to complete fully the first time through.

However, due to the complex nature of some of the levels, not all are completed that fast. You see... the levels are not as simple as you first think. Each level is comprised of as many as 4 separate screens at once. All environmental factors are always present, so if a wall exists in 1 world, it exists in all of the screens you can see. Pressing the 'C' button will merge all of the worlds so you can see how they interconnect better, however while they are merged you can't move.

Now, various other features play into the game, like green doors. Green doors will close the particular world that you are currently on, removing all of it's environmentals as well as any remaining coins. Often it is essential to collect certain coins in the red door world before closing off a green world door. This is because some platforms are required to get to certain places. However, if you screw up don't worry, there is always a rewind button.

Hold 'V' and you will immediately rewind the actions that had taken place. There is a decent amount of time for the rewind, and it doesn't run out if you use it repeatedly. Some levels make exceptionally good use of it, and others you will find you don't even use the feature.

Now there is a second type of door, it is silver with a hint of yellow in the middle, and these will switch or open new worlds. I personally have never seen a game that features this type of play, and it will be confusing to start for many, once you get used to it tho it is pure genius. Whoever wrote this game was insane one day when he came up with the concept. There are multiple groups of stages, each group having around 6 levels. Certain more advanced groups of levels can only be reached once you have accumulated a certain number of stars... This reminded me of Super Mario 64, where you could only open doors with the right number of stars.

Aside from the par time for each level, there is also a special speed run time that is given. This time is usually VERY fast, much faster than you would think possible, how each time is attainable and will increase your score dramatically

Now, as far as physics, the game is fairly flawless. I mean there is only 1 glitch I encountered that has to do with jumping and closing a world and getting caught in between two dividers... but you can always just rewind and fix the problem. This means that if any bugs do come up... just rewind.

Overall this game is simply amazing. It is a completely new take on puzzle games, and really does deliver a new type of flash game experience, something hard to come by these days. Since the author is said to be updating regularly, it might have some replay value, but once you've gone through every level, it loses it's entertainment a little bit. But trust me, the first 30 minutes is MORE than worth it.

Rating:

Longevity: 2.5/5
Interface: 3.5/5
Addictiveness: 4.0/5
Sound: 4.0/5
Simplicity: 3.5/5

Overall: 3.5/5

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The third installment of the MARDEK RPG series of games, which is also the current one, is absolutely massive. I had to stop playing because it was suddenly 3 AM, and I have class tomorrow. MARDEK RPG: Chapter 3 on Kongregate, has to be the single largest flash-based RPG I have ever played... ever.

If you haven't taken a look at them, you can find reviews here for MARDEK RPG: Chapter 1, and MARDEK RPG: Chapter 2 on this site. It isn't required that you play through either chapter, but rest assured you will be missing out on valuable levels, equipment, and plot detail. These games, eventually there are supposed to be 8 chapters, have save game files that carry over from one to another. So as long as you manage to finish the chapter before it, your saved file will carry over.

Well for the first chapter, this wasn't bad. After 30 minutes you were done... the second chapter was significantly longer at close to 3 hours of game play available... And to give you an idea, I am nearly 5 hours into the 3rd chapter (the game play clock carries from one chapter to another), and I have only completed the first main story arc. Conveniently, the author has made a number of changes in game play to the third chapter, some good, and some bad.. still has no real music.

*Note, if you are unfamiliar with the majority of the game, I suggest you read over chapter 1 review, it will give you a brief understanding of the game.

The first thing that has been noticeably changed is the difficulty level. Boss fights have become harder, average monsters deal more damage, and maps are a lot larger. To stress that point, some maps have become so difficult to navigate they actually have a fog over them where you can only see immediately around you, and your overview map is useless. These few changes alone take this game out of casual gaming space, and thrust it into the hardcore flash game realm. This game is going to take an eternity to beat, I am sure I will log close to 50 hours of game play by the time the series is over... but mark my words I will play through it all.

Your party is also becoming more and more diversified. If you get all of the possible members to chose from you end up with a very respectable selection size. As far as party composition, I would recommend having at least an off healer besides Mardek, this will let him dish out some physical damage when he needs to. Aside from that, just tailoring the specific party to each zone is the key to winning. Since party members can be swapped out at save point crystals this is something you should never neglect just because of laziness. Having the right party composition will make or break your boss fights.

Another feature that is now more and more prominent is the reaction's portion of the game. If you are unfamiliar totally with this, check out the picture in this article referencing the character and skills screen. Reaction's are something that are used during combat, they can be passive offensive and defensive, and either magical or physical. When that little bar starts moving across the bottom of the screen, and hits the filled in portion press [X]. This will trigger the Reaction, and whatever it's specified effect is. Some reactions will increase damage output, some critical hit chance, and others have nothing to do with combat at all. Balancing which Reations to use is also an important feature, and since you are getting more and more available reactions, some will start taking priority.

Another change is the wide variety of environments. There are sand tunnels, dark temples, winding desert paths, even a port that requires you to answer a series of questions, prior to boarding the ship, designed to add some comic relief to the game. I have absolute faith that as the saga of Mardek progress' even farther, more and more detailed and content rich features will be added to this game.

Now there is a full walkthrough written, I assume it was done by the author himself because it can be slightly vague at times, but still good enough to help you out. Also, there is A LOT of bonus content in this game. I would say that nearly half of the overall game play is from bonus questing alone. That being said, you are not required to complete these quests, but they do award you achievements on Kongregate, as well as better gear in the game usually. This means that future chapters will be easier.

My only qualm was not knowing how much I would wish I would have kept different types of items. This game has a massive inventory system, and dozens of spots for save files. I would suggest making use of these features, or at least the inventory space. Never sell any weapon or piece of armor that has any future potential, I guarantee you will regret it... I know I did.

I am avoiding most of the plot for a good reason. This game is driven by plot, I mean the actual game play is fun, but nothing is more desirable than finishing a quest only to have something horrible happen, or a new piece of information come to light. This is how I can tell that this series will absolutely go down in flash game history. To date I have never played a game as large or as rich in content on the flash system. Nor have I played one that carries over so much information from one chapter to the next. It honestly feels like one flash game spread out over different chapters... exactly how it should feel. The author pulls off everything he is trying to do with a wonderful degree of seeming perfectionism.

Overall I have to say, I can't wait to get home tomorrow night and see how this story arc ends. I also can't wait to start the next installment of MARDEK RPG. I would recommend everyone spend the time to play through this game start to finish. However, if you are only into casual flash games, this title will not be for you. It will not be over quickly at all.

Rating:

Longevity: 5.0/5
Interface: 4.5/5
Addictiveness: 4.0/5
Sound: 3.5/5
Simplicity: 3.5/5

Overall: 4.1/5

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The second chapter in an epic story of bravery and courage, MARDEK RPG: Chapter 2 builds takes off where MARDEK RPG: Chapter 1 ends... and it continues in the same good manor. Found on Kongregate, it incorporates exactly what you'd expect from a game of this nature, magic, levels, and plot development.

This will focus more on the second chapter itself, and the new features it brings... or at least the ones it expands on, for a review of the original game see the review of chapter 1 found here.

So, this second installment doesn't make any changes to the game engine at all, a brilliant move seeing as the first one was great as it was. This game is now plot rich, the previous game took a mere 30 minutes to beat, where as I am 2 hours deep and still am unsure how developed the game will get. That means this review is not based on the entire game, so I can't speak of somethings... the only thing I can say is that Mardek and his friends have their work cut out for them. As far as difficulty, it would seem the number of random encounters has gone up from the first, and the complexity of enemies has also increased.

Shops are found in the main town, and I am sure by now you have got lots of gold from your travels. Before buying lots of one item, make sure your characters can equip them as some items cannot be used by everyone. Also I would be apprehensive about selling off potions, you might not need them early on but speaking from experience, once you reach the caves... you really do need them.

Another expansion is that now inventory management is much more clear, and equipment does play a part. Your party begins to get expanded beyond the two friends that started off, and sometimes party members change regularly. You get a mage added to your party, who does no damage physically, but has devastating spells. In fact when you first get her your physical damage seems almost non-existent compared to her damage output. This changes however once you start to get some better gear for the main character and his best friend.

Save points work in a similar fashion, but now you will be glad for the healing properties they offer. Not only that, they also rejuvenate magic points, the currency for casting spells, and since potions for these are much more rare I'd save whenever possible.

When you pick up items keep an eye on which party member is selected, they do not share a common inventory. Even tho you might think when on the menu screen that the inventory you see is the only one... you are wrong. Each party member has their own inventory, which means that you will never run out of room, and everyone can carry a pheonixdown[used to resurrect dead members]. Stacks of items are split very easily, and items are swapped in a similarly simplistic manor.

Now, as far as plot goes you wake up a few years down the road, with Mardek and his friend joining the ranks of soldiers in an effort to fight evil, gain experience and become heroes. They are tasked with a simple quest to start, find and fight off some bandits, and some fellow recruits go with them. However things take a terrible toll when one of the recruits dies in a horrible accident. Everyone agrees to cover it up, and sure enough you are inducted into soldier hood. The next morning your quests take you to the far east of the global map, to a city plagued by more monsters. On the way is a side quest in a lake, worth the experience, and then off to the city.

Honestly, I don't want to give away the entire game, but it's a good play, and will take a reasonable amount of time to beat. I would not recommend this as a short and quick flash game, but rather something to spend the time to beat. The combat system gets more evolved in the second one as now you need to look at buffs and debuffs, as well as different creature types.

Overall, MARDEK RPG: Chapter 2 picks up nicely where the first one left off, I intend full to go now and finish this second chapter. I'd encourage everyone who played through the first to do the same, and keep your eyes and RSS readers open for the next chapter in the MARDEK saga.

Rating:

Longevity: 4.0/5
Interface: 4.0/5
Addictiveness: 4.0/5
Sound: 3.5/5
Simplicity: 3.5/5

Overall: 3.8/5


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